The Pensions Department will pay Rs.16 billion in pension gratuity dues during the next six months, Director General of Pensions, Jagath D. Dias said.
He said that the Department had settled Rs. 3 billion from June to August as pension gratuity for public sector employees who retired from service, Dias said.
The Department had to pay Rs.17 billion as gratuity arrears by June this year and had paid Rs.3 billion by the end of August. At present the due amount is Rs.16 billion. He said the Pensions Department had paid Rs. 11.3 billion as gratuity allowances from January 1 to August 31 this year.
Around 10,525 pensioners have received their gratuity payments so far this year, he said.
Cabinet approval was granted to settle the unpaid pension gratuity of retired public servants, a spokesman for the Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry said.
The Cabinet paper was presented by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in his capacity as the subject Minister. The pension gratuity for retiring public servants had not been paid from 2021 due to the economic instability in the country. Pensioners were under stress due to this and their grievances were presented to the Ministry. The Cabinet approved to disburse the money to the Pensions Department before the end of October to settle the pension gratuity for 2021. The money to settle the pension gratuity for 2022 will be disbursed within six months. Cabinet also granted approval to appoint a seven-member committee to recommend proposals to streamline the process of paying the pension gratuity.
The Registrar General’s Department has informed Government institutions to accept any certified copies of birth, marriage or death certificates issued by the Registrar General as valid irrespective of the issuing date.
The Registrar General P.S.P. Abeywardane in a circular stated that some Government institutions have made it compulsory for the public to present a certified copy of these certificates which were issued within six months from the date of obtaining the service.
The Department has informed the Education and Foreign Affairs Ministries, the Department of Registration Persons and the Immigration and Emigration Department to accept any certified copy of these certificates as valid irrespective of the date of issue.